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SCHOOL  GARDENS 


Report  of  the  Fairview  Garden  School  Association 
Yonkers,  N.  Y. 


BY 

MRS.  A.  L.  LIVERMORE 

Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS  UBR'v,i ' 

SEP  7 ‘ 1V 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 

A Prize-winner 


Published  May,  1910 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/schoolgardensrepOOfair 


'I  VERsrrv  OF  lUINOIS  LBftAfty 
SEP  7 - 


Report  of  the 

Fairview  Garden  School  Association 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Claim  to  Recognition 6 

History  of  the  Movement 6 

Correlation  with  School  Work 8 

Home  Gardening io 

School  Gardens 12 

Fairview  Garden  School  of  Yonkers 12 

Origin  and  Growth 12 

Benefits 14 

A Good  Investment 16 

Summer  of  1909 18 

Influence 20 

Recognition ' 22 

Winter  Season  of  1909-1910 24 

Equipment  and  Maintenance 28 

Publications  on  School  Gardens 31 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  FAIRVIEW  GARDEN  SCHOOL 
ASSOCIATION 
1910 


Honorary  President , Miss  Mary  Marshall  Butler 


President 

George  P.  Butler 

V ice-Presidents 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Livermore 
Richard  Edie,  Jr. 

Secretary 

Mrs.  Lawson  Sandford 

T reasurer 
Albert  Bunker 

Directors 

Charles  P.  Easton 
Thomas  Ewing,  Jr. 
Charles  E.  Gorton 
Samuel  T.  Hubbard 
Robert  G.  Jackson 
Mrs.  W.  M.  Taussig 


Executive  Committee 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Livermore, 
Chairman 

Miss  Elizabeth  Johnson, 
Secretary 

Mrs.  Charles  Arent 
Mrs.  James  T.  Bixby 
Mrs.  E.  M.  Conger 
Mrs.  Ernest  P.  Hoes 
Miss  Julia  Leffingwell 
Mrs.  W.  C.  Prime 
Mrs.  Benjamin  W.  Stilwell 
Mrs.  Lawson  Sandford 
Mrs.  W.  M.  Taussig 

Superintendent 

Edward  Mahoney 

Assistants 

Miss  Elizabeth  Jabine 
Miss  Etta  Simpson 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


Claim  to 
Recognition 

The  school  garden’s  popularity  and  growth  are  accounted 
for  in  many  ways,  but  chiefly  because  of  its  rare  combination  of 
essential  educational  qualities.  It  is  a happy  mingling  of  play 
and  work,  vacation  and  school,  athletics  and  manual  training, 
pleasure  and  business,  beauty  and  utility,  head  and  hand,  free- 
dom and  responsibility,  of  corrective  and  preventive,  construc- 
tive and  creative  influences,  and  all  in  the  great  school  of  out-of- 
doors.  It  is  a corrective  of  the  evils  of  the  school  room.  It  is  a 
preventive  of  the  perils  of  misspent  leisure.  It  is  constructive 
of  character  building.  It  is  creative  of  industrious,  honest 
producers.  In  fact,  there  is  no  child’s  nature  to  which  it  does 
not  in  some  way  make  a natural  and  powerful  appeal. 

History  of  the 
Movement 

Individual  educators  first  realized  the  value  of  school  gardens. 
Comenius,  Rousseau,  Pestalozzi,  and  Froebel  all  used  them. 
In  1869  Austria  decreed  that  every  rural  school  should  have  an 
experiment  garden  attached  to  it.  Switzerland,  France,  Bel- 
gium, England,  Norway,  Sweden  and  Russia,  wherever  possible 
now  make  a garden  with  each  school  compulsory.  At  the 
present  time  Berlin  has  a large  school  garden  outside  the  city, 
with  a plot  for  every  child  who  applies.  In  Canada  the  new 
Macdonald  Institute  at  Guelph  has  the  finest  equipment  in  the 
world  for  teaching  nature  study  and  school  gardening.  The 
United  States  is  tardily  following  the  footsteps  of  other  countries 
in  this  movement.  Boston  started  the  first  school  garden  in  the 
United  States  at  the  Putnam  School,  in  1891.  Now  there  are 
school  gardens  in  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  Washington,  Omaha,  Cleve- 
land, Yonkers,  Brookline,  Rochester,  New  York  City,  Phila- 
delphia and  Hampton.  In  each  of  these  cities,  the  school 
gardens  are  on  a different  basis,  working  out  their  own  problems, 
and  meeting  differing  local  conditions. 

6 


VACANT  LOT 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


Before 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


After 


8 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


The  Children’s  School  Farm  in  De  Witt  Clinton  Park,  New 
York  City,  is  made  a part  of  the  park  system.  It  has  proved 
successful  in  the  heart  of  a congested  tenement-house  district, 
surrounded  by  a lawless  element.  Here  hundreds  of  children 
enjoy  and  maintain  their  little  gardens  unmolested. 

The  National  Cash  Register  Company  of  Dayton,  Ohio, 
opened  school  gardens  on  a purely  business  basis.  The  president 
of  the  company  found  that  the  men  who  made  successes  in  life 
were  the  ones  who  had  had  farm  or  garden  chores  to  do  as  boys. 
The  influence  of  the  Dayton  Gardens  raised  the  price  of  land 
in  the  vicinity,  changed  the  spirit  of  the  locality,  and  improved 
the  character  of  the  boys. 

Correlation  with 
School  Work 

Garden  instruction  has  been  placed  on  a pedagogical  basis 
by  Principal  Baldwin  of  the  Hyannis,  Mass.,  State  Normal  School. 
He  exhibited  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  “Charts  and  diagrams 
of  a correlated  system  of  instruction  in  all  the  studies  of  the 
ordinary  curriculum,  based  on  the  school  garden.”  His  system 
has  been  successfully  used  and  adapted  in  other  places. 

Here  are  a few  suggestions  as  to  how  the  school  garden  can 
be  allied  to  the  studies  of  the  school,  without  taking  a minute’s 
time  from  the  pupil’s  routine  work.  The  school  garden  fur- 
nishes : 

1.  Source  of  best  nature  study  material. 

2.  Art  work— design,  color,  form,  grouping,  etc. 

3.  Language — topics,  composition,  some  of  best  literature. 

4.  Mathematics — measuring,  plotting,  etc. 

5.  Physics  and  chemistry — natural  forces. 

6.  Domestic  science — raw  food  stuffs,  large  world  relations. 

7.  History — plants',  old  customs,  trade  routes,  industries. 

8.  It  is  industrial  training. 

9.  Manual  training — making  tools  and  accessories. 

10.  It  is  elementary  agriculture — curiosity  aroused,  monot- 

ony banished. 

11.  Improves  school — a social  bond,  ethics,  civics. 

12.  The  conditions  of  living  given  in  miniature. 


Jdholo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


IO 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


Home 

Gardening 

The  City  of  Cleveland  has  eight  school  gardens,  and  its 
Board  of  Education  has  appointed  Louise  Klein  Miller,  Curator 
of  School  Gardens.  Cleveland  has  the  distinction  of  being  the 
originator  of  the  home  gardening  movement.  Their  Home 
Gardening  Association  works  chiefly  through  the  schools,  and 
has  done  much  to  beautify,  not  only  the  individual  homes,  but 
the  whole  city  as  well.  What  Cleveland  originated  has  been 
copied  byfother  cities,  and  for  the  sake  of  definiteness,  I will 
describe  the  home  gardening  work  in  Yonkers. 

About  March  ist,  cards  are  distributed  through  the  public 
schools,  containing  lists  of  flowers  and  vegetable  seeds  that  can 
be  purchased  at  a penny  a packet,  for  home  planting.  There  are 
sixteen  kinds  of  flower  and  eight  kinds  of  vegetable  seeds,  gladi- 
olus bulbs  and  grass  seed  on  this  list.  These  order  cards  are 
collected.  The  orders  and  the  money  from  each  school,  or 
school  room,  are  placed  in  envelopes  and  returned  to  the  Fair- 
view  Garden  School.  The  Garden  School  then  purchases  the 
seeds  in  bulk,  measures  the  seeds  with  tiny  seedsman’s  measures, 
and  puts  the  seeds  in  their  proper  envelopes.  This  work  was 
formerly  done  by  a volunteer  committee  of  ladies,  but  now  much, 
if  not  most  of  it,  is  done  by  the  Garden  School  children  them- 
selves, who  love  to  assist,  and  are  quite  expert.  The  cards  and 
packets  have  full  directions  for  planting  of  seeds  and  cultivation 
of  crops.  The  seeds  are  delivered  to  the  school  children  about 
April  ist.  Similar  penny  packets  of  seeds  can  be  obtained  from 
the  Cleveland  Home  Gardening  Association,  or  from  Vick,  the 
florist  in  Rochester,  if  orders  are  sent  through  the  school  teachers. 
It  is  wiser  and  easier  to  order  the  penny  packets  when  first 
starting  the  home  gardening  work. 

Last  year  33,000  penny  packets  of  seeds  were  ordered  by 
3300  children  of  Yonkers,  for  home  gardens.  In  1908,  the 
Cleveland  Home  Gardening  Association  distributed,  in  Cleveland, 
264,777  penny  packets  of  seeds;  out  of  Cleveland,  307,777  packets, 
and  131,000  bulbs.  Last  summer,  210  children  from  eight 
Yonkers  schools  entered  the  competition  for  the  best  home 
gardens.  Each  of  these  gardens  was  visited  by  a committee 
during  the  summer,  which  reported  that  70  gardens  were  really 
creditable  and  deserving  of  some  recognition.  Near  the  end  of 
August,  an  exhibit  is  held  for  those  pupils  who  order  seeds,  and 


Weighing  Their  Crops 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


I 2 

plant  and  cultivate  their  own  home  gardens.  The  flowers  and 
vegetables  are  brought  to  the  Garden  School  and  prizes  are  given 
for  the  best  individual  displays.  The  influence  of  the  garden 
movement  is  thus  felt  in  many  humble  homes,  waste  time  is 
made  profitable,  and  the  city’s  back  yards  are  beautified.  Some 
associations  extend  this  work  to  include  potted  plants  at  home, 
window  boxes  and  vacant  lot  cultivation,  for  the  many  who  have 
no  back  yards  of  their  own. 

School 

Gardens 

Now  for  the  School  Garden  itself:  There  are  many  kinds  of 
school  gardens,  and  many  divisions  of  the  subject,  (i)  There  are 
ornamental  and  planted  grounds  which  become  an  example 
to  the  community.  (2)  There  is  the  formal  plat  for  handicraft, 
or  to  show  varieties  of  plants.  (3)  There  is  the  problem  garden, 
a laboratory  to  study  blights  and  varieties.  (4)  The  plantation 
gardens,  where  things  are  grown  in  masses.  (5)  There  is  the 
improvement  of  school  grounds.  (6 — and  best)  There  is  the 
school  garden,  where  either  each  class  may  have  a plot  in  com- 
mon, or  individuals  of  classes  may  have  individual  plots.  It  is 
called  a “school  garden  because  it  is  a school  in  which  to  grow, 
as  much  as  a garden  in  which  things  are  grown;  a school  to 
develop  children,  as  much  as  a garden  where  children  develop 
vegetables  and  flowers.”  We,  in  Yonkers,  call  ours  “A  Garden 
School”  instead  of  “A  School  Garden”  because  we  are,  as  yet, 
independent  of  the  schools.  We  hope,  however,  that  in  time 
our  work  will  be  taken  over  by  the  Board  of  Education. 

FAIR  VIEW  GARDEN  SCHOOL  OF  YONKERS 

Origin 
and  Growth 

The  Fairview  Garden  School  of  Yonkers  is  a direct  out- 
growth of  the  interest  in  civic  betterment  taken  by  the  Civic 
League  of  the  Woman’s  Institute,  and  of  the  personal  initiative 
of  its  president,  Miss  Mary  Marshall  Butler. 

In  the  summer  of  1903,  two  small  gardens  were  started  in 
the  tenement  district  with  36  boys  from  public  and  parochial 
schools  in  the  vicinity.  Two  unsightly  vacant  lots  were  trans- 
formed into  such  successful  little  gardens  that,  the  following 


Getting  Ready  for  Planting 


14 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


year,  the  gardens  were  planned  on  a larger  scale.  Through  the 
generosity  of  one  individual,  if  acres  of  land  on  Fairview  Street 
were  secured  for  a garden  school,  and  were  divided  into  250 
plots,  averaging  10  x 16  feet.  This  land,  together  with  an  ad- 
ditional tract  of  if  acres  has  been  purchased  and  the  use  of  it 
given  temporarily  to  the  Fairview  Garden  Association.  Besides 
having  the  free  use  of  the  land,  buildings  and  improvements  have 
also  been  provided.  This  leaves  it  necessary,  however,  for  the 
Association  to  provide  funds  for  all  running  expenses. 

Six  hundred  boys  and  girls  wait  patiently  for  the  opening 
day,  when  they  can  go  in  and  take  possession  of  their  land  of 
promise,  their  little  10  x 16  foot  plot.  These  children  are  from 
8 to  13  years  old,  and  are  children  that  have  no  other  garden 
opportunities,  living  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  garden 
school.  What  does  the  possession  of  this  little  plot  mean  to 
the  children?  What  benefits  do  they  obtain?  Why  should  such 
an  enterprise  be  supported  ? 

Benefits 

We  feel  that  no  other  form  of  philanthropy  gives  so  direct, 
so  abundant  and  so  far-reaching  results  for  the  money  expended 
as  this.  The  Fairview  Garden  School  is  a great  educational  and 
social  power  for  the  physical,  mental  and  moral  growth  of  the 
child.  First,  physically:  It  is  a foe  of  the  “White  Plague,”  it 
gives  healthy  exercise  in  the  open  air,  next  to  the  soil  for  six 
months  in  the  year,  on  a high,  breeze-swept  piece  of  land.  Sec- 
ond, mentally:  The  children  receive  definite  instruction  in  the 
care  of  the  soil,  planting,  weeding,  plant-growth,  harvesting 
crops,  insect  pests  and  care  of  tools.  Notebooks  of  the  record 
of  the  plot  are  carefully  kept  by  each  child.  Only  common 
grain  and  other  products,  such  as  hemp,  flax,  cotton,  jute,  are 
studied  in  the  Observation  Garden.  Third,  morally:  Character 
growth  is  nearly  as  rapid  as  that  of  the  plants.  The  children 
form  habits  of  neatness,  method,  regularity,  persistence,  ob- 
servation and  industry.  The  child  possesses  the  fruit  of  his  own 
labor,  whether  vegetables  or  flowers.  The  value  of  the  crop  is 
estimated  at  $5.  per  plot.  A love  of  nature  is  developed.  The 
great  laws  of  life  are  watched.  Nature’s  miracle  is  revealed  to 
each  child.  The  reason  for  the  growth  of  the  plant,  in  food,  air 
and  sun  is  seen  in  plant  life,  and,  by  inference,  in  child  life.  The 
joy  of  a useful  occupation  is  experienced.  The  child  learns  to- 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


16 

respect  the  property  rights  of  others  and  to  cooperate.  Are 
not  these  qualities  at  the  very  basis  of  our  social  fabric?  Agri- 
culture is  the  primary  basis  of  wealth  in  America.  Is  not 
the  need  of  more  farmers  a national  need  today? 

A Good 
Investment 

Americans  are  just  beginning  to  realize  that  the  greatest 
asset  of  our  nation  is  our  children,  and  that  every  American 
child  has  a right  to  start  the  race  even,  not  handicapped.  “ Give 
the  children  their  chance,”  is  the  slogan  of  the  20th  Century. 
We  have  no  right  to  so  construct  a city  that  the  children  are 
deprived  of  their  natural  rights  of  play  and  of  breathing  pure 
air.  The  city’s  lack  of  responsibility  in  this  matter  throws  the 
burden  on  others,  and  the  Fairview  Garden  School  is  one  at- 
tempt to  meet  this  need.  To  some  a garden  means  only  flowers 
and  sentiment.  But,  wait  a moment.  Let  us  talk  on  a money 
basis. 

Did  you  know  that  a child  can  raise  $5.  worth  of  vegetables 
on  a io-by-16-foot  plot?  If,  any  morning  this  summer,  you  were 
to  go  to  Fairview  Street,  you  would  see  children  with  vegetables 
in  baskets,  in  little  carts,  in  baby  carriages,  in  wheelbarrows,  in 
flour  bags,  triumphantly  bearing  home  the  products  of  their 
toil.  The  foreign  born  laborer  knows,  better  than  the  American, 
that  vegetables  in  summer  mean  health  in  winter,  and  some  of 
these  families  have  formerly  seen  no  vegetable  but  a potato  on 
their  dinner  tables.  As  you  look  at  the  faces  of  these  children, 
in  some  of  them  the  only  expression  is  a predatory  one.  The 
little  fingers  instinctively  reach  out  to  lay  hold  on  something  to 
snatch — the  eye  furtively  turns  to  see  whom  it  can  outwit. 
These  children’s  only  education  thus  far  has  been  to  prey  on 
others.  They  are  embryo  city-made  thieves.  One  lady  wrote 
us  she  would  not  contribute  to  the  Garden  School  because,  for- 
* sooth,  her  plants  had  been  stolen.  The  very  reason  why  she 
should  contribute.  How  can  a child  realize  what  it  means  to 
respect  others’  property,  until  he  has  had  something  of  his  own 
to  possess?  He  cannot  respect  teum  until  he  knows  meum.  By 
the  end  of  one  season  in  the  Garden  School,  the  most  inveterate 
snatcher  no  longer  has  to  be  watched,  but  can  be  perfectly 
trusted.  In  dollars,  what  does  this  save  the  city,  the  police 
courts,  the  protectories,  the  prisons,  besides  making  a productive 
citizen  out  of  one  with  criminal  tendencies? 


%'9T 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


1 8 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


There  are  other  little  children  in  braces,  some  with  hip  disease, 
some  with  coughs,  whose  summer  in  the  Garden  School  makes  the 
tubercular  shadow  hover  less  darkly  over  them.  There  is  one 
little  fellow  who  has  worn  the  same  buttonless  shirt  all  summer. 
Can  you  imagine  what  care  he  gets  at  home,  and  what  this 
summer  means  to  him?  The  girls,  especially,  are  industrious 
in  their  gardens.  Most  of  them  are  “little  mothers ” with  a baby 
in  tow.  These  same  little  girls,  when  they  become  real  mothers, 
will  not  settle  in  a tenement  house.  The  Garden  School  has 
prevented  that.  They  will  choose  a house  with  a bit  of  land, 
where  they  will  work  and  raise  vegetables,  as  did  primitive  woman 
before  them.  Two  little  brothers  have  daily  brought  theip 
lunch  and  spent  the  entire  day  at  the  Garden  School  all  summer 
through. 

It  is  needless  to  speak  of  the  many  children  who  come  with 
beaming  faces  and  whose  every  minute  in  the  garden  is  one  long 
happiness.  We  are  dwelling  on  the  dollar  side,  and  what  the 
money  equivalents  of  the  Garden  in  prevention  and  construction 
mean  to  a city.  We  have  enumerated  but  a few  instances,  but 
just  one  boy  saved  from  a criminal  life  and  turned  into  an  honest 
wage-earner  would  more  than  pay  the  expenses  of  a garden  school. 

Summer  of 
1909 

The  Fairview  Garden  School  opened  about  May  1st,  and  was 
open  after  school  hours,  and  all  day  Saturdays,  and  all  vacation 
until  October  1st.  Although  582  children  had  plots,  10  x 16 
feet,  last  summer,  of  1,000  children  who  applied  418  had  to  be 
refused.  Hardly  a day  passed  that  the  question  was  not  asked, 
“Is  there  a vacant  plot  for  me?”  Of  the  garden  children,  382 
were  boys  and  200  girls.  About  forty  per  cent,  attend  the 
parochial  schools  and  sixty  per  cent,  the  public  schools.  The 
nationalities  were  very  varied,  but  Irish- American,  Polish  and 
Slavic  predominated.  There  were  but  few  Italians,  and  these, 
without  exception,  were  fine  gardeners.  The  average  age  was 
eleven  and  one-half  years,  the  average  daily  attendance,  236. 
A child  is  required  to  cultivate  his  plot  twice  a week.  From  the 
children’s  record  books,  we  find  that  they  work  in  their  plots  every 
day  for  the  first  twTo  weeks,  and,  generally,  three  times  a week 
thereafter.  Boys  who  get  jobs  during  the  summer,  work  in 
their  plots  on  Saturday  afternoons,  while  their  sisters  often 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


A Set  of  Tools 


20 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


attend  to  the  plots  in  midweek.  Forty-six  children  fell  out 
during  the  season,  most  of  whom  moved  away  from  the  city. 
The  health  of  all  the  children  was  noticeably  improved  by  the 
end  of  the  summer.  There  has  been  no  trouble  with  discipline 
in  the  garden  this  summer,  or  any  other,  although  some  of  our 
boys  represent  a very  “tough”  element. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  little  gardeners  raised  during  the 
season,  8,120  quarts  of  string  beans;  34,800  beets;  1,740  pecks 
of  Swiss  Chard;  23,200  carrots;  14,500  heads  of  lettuce;  4,640 
bunches  of  parsley;  11,600  parsnips;  5,060  quarts  of  onions; 
70,480  radishes;  6,960  heads  of  celery.  The  entire  product  is 
valued  at  S3, 306.  Each  child  owns  what  he  raises.  Some  show 
thrift  in  disposing  of  their  vegetables  to  customers,  but  most  of 
the  vegetables  are  used  in  the  homes.  Several  children  of  the 
1908  garden  had  their  fathers  dig  up  their  sun-baked  back  yards 
with  pickaxes,  and  they  planted  and  tended  their  own  vegetables 
at  home. 

Influence 

The  influence  of  the  garden  in  the  neighborhood  is  a benefit 
and  not  a detriment.  One  neighbor  expressed  herself  as  up- 
holding the  work  in  every  way,  saying  that  for  the  first  time  in 
a dozen  years,  her  grapes  and  peaches  had  had  a chance  to  ripen 
without  being  stolen.  But  our  best  recommendation  comes 
from  the  Mayor,  whose  letter  we  quote  entire: 

Manor  Hall,  City  of  Yonkers 
Mrs.  Arthur  L.  Livermore, 

Dear  Madam: 

Residing,  as  I do,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  the  Fairview  Garden  School,  I have  had  an  excep- 
tional opportunity  of  ascertaining  by  personal  observa- 
tion its  growth  and  the  benefit  it  has  been  to  the  chil- 
dren, particularly  in  the  congested  sixth  ward.  It  is, 
therefore,  with  great  pleasure  that  I enclose  my  check, 
and  I assure  you  that  whatever  influence  I may  have, 
officially  or  privately,  will  be  willingly  extended  to 
your  useful  and  beneficial  association. 

Sincerely, 

James  T.  Lennon 

An  interesting  commentary  on  the  influence  of  the  garden 
is  shown  by  the  varied  occasions  for  which  children  ask  for 
flowers.  Bouquets  are  in  demand  for  decorating  the  altars  of 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


22 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


churches,  for  anniversaries,  for  weddings,  for  the  dedication  of 
the  Slavonic  Catholic  Church,  for  giving  to  sick  schoolmates  in 
hospitals,  and,  sad  to  state,  for  the  many  funerals  of  babies  who 
die  in  the  summer  months.  Two  wheelbarrows  of  flowers  have 
been  sent  weekly  to  the  New  York  hospitals  through  the  New 
York  Flower  Mission.  We  feel  that  these  facts  point  definitely  to 
a widened  community  interest  and  growth  in  altruism,  although 
some  of  this  interest  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  influence  of  the 
home  garden  work. 

Recognition 

We  have  had  -many  visitors  from  other  cities  ‘who  are  en- 
gaged in  similar  work,  and  come  to  study  our  methods.  There 
have  been  constantly  growing  demands  for  information  con- 
cerning our  garden,  and  requests  for  photographs,  lantern  slides, 
lectures  and  magazine  articles.  The  State  Department  of 
Education  and  the  Cornell  College  of  Agriculture  have  asked  for 
duplicates  of  a number  of  our  lantern  slides,  declaring  that  they 
gave  the  best  idea  of  garden  school  work  that  they  had  seen. 
Our  cabinet  of  large  photographs  of  the  Garden  School,  which 
won  for  us  a silver  medal  at  the  Jamestown  Exposition,  has  been 
on  a continuous  tour,  being  exhibited  at  Albany  at  the  State 
Fair,  by  the  Division  of  Visual  Instruction,  New  York  State 
Education  Department;  at  Rochester  by  the  New  York  State 
Federation  of  Women’s  Clubs,  and  at  Whitney’s  Point  at  the 
State  Institute. 

The  School  Garden  Association  of  New  York  City  awarded 
a diploma  to  the  Fairview  Garden  School  “as  a mark  of  high 
excellence  in  a children’s  garden,  having  attained  first  rank  in 
the  Annual  Plant  and  Garden  Exhibit  of  the  School  Garden 
Association.”  The  Garden  School  Contest  conducted  by  Double- 
day, Page  & Co.,  in  the  Garden  Magazine,  has  awarded  our 
Garden  School  the  first  prize,  consisting  of  fifteen  volumes  of  the 
Nature  Library,  valued  at  $60.00,  for  the  best  display  of  garden 
products  at  its  fall  exhibit,  also  four  prizes  to  children  in  our 
school,  for  excellence  in  individual  exhibits.  While  these  results 
in  themselves  are  not  of  prime  importance,  they  are  immensely 
significant  in  revealing  the  growth  of  and  increased  interest  in 
the  Garden  School  idea.  The  finest  results  are  those  which 
cannot  be  seen.  They  are  less  obvious  and  more  valuable. 
They  are  like  planting  the  seed  in  the  soil,  leaving  the  flowering 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


2 4 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


to  a higher  power.  The  influence  on  character,  on  ideals,  the 
widening  of  the  horizon,  the*jov  of  being  useful,  the  pleasure  of 
competition,  the  growth  of  social  solidarity  and  community 
interest — these  are  intangible  results,  but  very  real,  and  the 
foundation  of  our  faith  in  this  work. 

Winter  Season 
of  1909-1910 

So  encouraged  was*  the  Association  with  the  summer’s  work 
that  it  undertook  a new  and  enlarged  scheme  of  work  for  the 
winter  months.  The  garden  was  ploughed  and  smoothed  and 
turned  into  a winter  playground,  while  the  large  house  at  No. 
95  High  Street,  owned  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  was  to  be 
used  for  social  and  club  purposes  by  the  Garden  School  children. 

We  quote  the  following  from  the  report  of  the  Superintend- 
ent, Mr.  Edward  Mahoney. 

“In  preparation  for  the  playground,  the  garden  was  plowed 
and  harrowed  and  more  stones -taken  away.  One  basketball 
court  and  two  football  courts  were  laid  out.  These  were  used 
eagerly  bv*  the  children,  there  being  an  attendance  of  over  100 
daily  for  six  weeks,  until  December  31st,  when  the  weather 
rendered  the  ground  unfit  for  play  purposes.  On  December  27th, 
a portion  of  the  garden,  about  75  by  125  feet,  was  flooded  with 
water  to  make  a skating  pond.  This  has  been  very  successful, 
owing  to  the  prolonged  cold  weather.  The  children  have  had, 
up  to  February  20th,  eighteen  days  of  skating.  There  has  been 
an  average  attendance  of  125  on  the  pond.” 

On  announcing  to  the  children  that  we  were  going  to  have 
the  house  open  during  the  winter  for  various  activities,  they  came 
in  such  numbers  that  it  was  impossible  to  handle  them,  and  it 
was  decided  to  divide  them  into  three  groups  according  to 
locality,  and  again  divide  each  of  these  groups  according  to 
age.  Each  of  the  groups  came  twice  each  week  to  the  house, 
afternoons  or  evenings. 

That  the  Garden  House  is  a center  of  child  activity  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  102  children  come  to'  it  each  day,  to  enjoy 
the  privileges  of  the  library  and  game  room,  to  meetings  of  the 
various  clubs,  or  to  hear  talks  on  outdoor  life  and  on  subjects 
related  to  garden  work  which  are  illustrated  by  lantern  slides 
loaned  the  Garden  School  by  the  Division  of  Visual  Instruction 
of  the  New  York  State  Department  of  Education  at  Albany. 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


26 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


Six  of  these  talks  are  given  weekly.  There  are  930  children  on 
our  records  for  the  winter  season.  About  800  of  these  children 
come  regularly  to  the  house  either  in  the  afternoon  or  evening. 

There  are  two  sewing  clubs,  both  of  which  meet  weekly  for 
an  hour  in  the  afternoon — Monday  Club,  18  members;  Tuesday 
Club,  40  members.  A Vegetable  Club,  30  members,  meets  twice 
a week,  and  has  for  its  object  the  study  of  the  various  vegetables 
grown  in  the  gardens  during  the  summer,  their  history,  food 
value,  ways  of  growth  and  methods  of  cooking.  Meeting  twice 
a month  is  a Dancing  Club,  30  members,  in  which  the  girls 
learn  the  dancing  steps  and  the  round  and  square  dances. 

Three  clubs,  meeting  in  the  evening,  were  organized  by  the 
boys  and  girls  themselves,  who  keep  their  own  records  and  make 
their  own  plans.  One  of  these,  a Reading  Club  of  girls,  14  mem- 
bers, while  they  listen  to  some  story  or  talk,  work  on  bits  of 
fancy  work  or  sewing  brought  from  home.  The  two  boys’  clubs 
discuss  at  their  meetings,  ways  and  means  for  the  coming  sea- 
son’s activities. 

One  of  the  features  of  our  winter’s  work  was  the  establish- 
ment, on  January  17th,  for  the  children  of  the  Garden  School, 
of  a Penny  Provident  Station.  Working  on  the  very  small 
capital  of  $25,  we  have  at  this  time,  after  running  only  a little 
longer  than  one  month,  124  depositors,  with  but  one  withdrawal 
(which  was  used  to  purchase  a pair  of  shoes),  an$  have  taken  in, 
mostly  in  pennies  and  nickels,  deposits  to  the  amount  of  $71.57. 

The  children  have  also  received  much  pleasure  and  profit 
from  interesting  lectures  and  entertainments  which  have  been 
given  during  the  winter. 

Another  new  departure  is  the  greenhouse  (18  x 34  feet), 
for  which  funds  were  raised,  and  which  is  now  completed  and  in 
use.  This  permits  of  widening  our  scope  of  work,  and  giving  an 
all  year  round  course  in  garden  subjects  and  garden  experience. 
It  will  be  used,  First:  For  growing  such  plants  as  require  an 
earlier  start  than  the  out-door  season  allows  in  this  latitude. 
This  permits  a longer  season  of  flower  and  fruit  with  many  of  the 
plants  which  are  used  in  the  Garden  School;  also  it  gives  a 
wider  choice  of  decorative  and  economic  plants  for  use  in  the 
children’s  plots,  decorative  beds,  borders  and  observation  gar- 
dens. Second:  The  children  will  be  given  instruction  and 

practice  in  potting,  propagation,  the  care  of  plants  at  home,  the 
care  of  plants  under  glass,  and  of  window  boxes;  the  use  of  cold 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


28 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


frames  in  combination  with  greenhouse  and  without  greenhouse; 
also  of  hot-beds,  and  the  testing  of  seeds. 

The  playground  embodies  the  play  instinct,  the  club  house 
develops  the  social  instinct,  and  the  greenhouse  stimulates 
the  productive  instinct.  By  these  means  we  retain  our  in- 
fluence on  the  children  throughout  the  entire  year,  and  make  the 
garden  work  continuous,  and  continuity  doubles  efficiency. 


Equipment 
and  Maintenance 

The  Fairview-  Garden  School  began  with  the  following  equip- 
ment for  260  children: 


50  Hoes 
50  Rakes 
50  Spades 
50  Garden  lines 


50  Trowels 
25  Watering  pots 
1 Portable  tool  house 
260  Notebooks. 


After  seven  years’  growth  has  an  equipment  for  600  children, 


of — 

no  Hoes  at  $4.75  doz. 
no  Rakes  at  $4.75  doz. 
no  Spades  at  $12.00  doz. 
no  Garden  lines  at  $.60  doz. 

100  Watering  cans  at  $15.00  doz. 

14  Wheelbarrows  at  $36.00  doz. 

75  Garden  trowels  at  $5.00  doz. 

3 Sets  brass  seed  gauges  at  $2.00  set 
Stenciling  outfit,  $2.00 
Entomological  materials,  $30.00 
6 Blackboards,  $6.00 
600  Notebooks,  $24.00 
1 Doz.  measures  for  vegetables,  $3.00 
1 Weighing  scale,  $10.00 

Workshop  outfit — benches,  vises,  hammers,  saws  and 
carpenter’s  tools,  etc.,  $150.00 
100  ft.  Garden  hose,  $20.00 
1 Lawn  mower,  $14.00 

1 Barn  building  wffiich  contains:  Tool  room,  office  where 

seeds  and  children’s  note  (record)  books  are  kept,  and 
workshop,  $150.00  for  fitting  up. 

1 Greenhouse,  18  x 34  feet,  with  work  room  attached,  flower 
pots  and  necessary  equipment,  $2000.00 
Installing  water  system,  $250.00 
Flag  pole,  $38.00 
20  Cold  frames,  $125.00 
1700  Feet  new  fence,  $1500.00 

Large  frame  house  which  is  used  as  club  house  and  center 
of  activities  for  winter  season. 


30 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


Maintenance 


Salaries  of  staff — six  in  number — for  garden  season 

(eight  months) 

Fertilizer 

Seeds 

Office — Printing,  stationery 

Water  rents 

Sundries 

Insurance 

Prizes  and  exhibit  expenses 


$2585.00 

300.00 

100.00 

125.00 

30.00 

60.00 
5.00 

50.00 


$3255-°° 

Winter  session  (four  months) : 


Salaries,  for  four 1020.00 

Fuel  and  light 300.00 

Sundries 26.00 

Playground  games 25.00 

Furniture 100.00 

Water  rents , 25.00 


$1496.00 

Summer  season $3255.00 

Winter  season 1496.00 

Total $4751.00 

The  approximate  cost  of  running  the  Fairview  Garden 
School  is  $1,000.00  to  the  acre;  or,  as  an  acre  furnishes  200  plots, 
10  x 16  feet — $5.00  a plot. 

For  every  six  children  a set  of  garden  implements  is  allotted, 
consisting  of: 


1 Hoe $.40 

1 Rake 40 

1 Spade 1. 00 

1 Trowel 42 

1 Watering  pot 1.25 

1 Garden  line. . . 05 

6 Notebooks 24 


For  the  set $3. 76 


SCHOOL  GARDENS 


3 1 

A FEW  OF  THE  PUBLICATIONS  ON  SCHOOL  GARDENS 

Agricultural  Education,  including  Nature  Study  and  School  Gardens, 
Jewett  1908,  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington, 
D.  C.  No.  368 

Children’s  Gardens,  by  Louise  Klein  Miller,  published  by  D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  New  York.  Price  $1.20 

School  Gardens,  Galloway  1905,  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Education, 
Washington,  D.  C.  No.  160 

School  Gardening  in  English  Rural  Schools  and  London,  Sipe  1909,  pub- 
lished by  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C.  No.  204 

Principles  of  Vegetable  Gardening,  by  L.  H.  Bailey,  published  by  Mac- 
millan Co.,  New  York.  Price  $1.50 


TWO  BOOKS  JUST  ISSUED  (1910) 

Among  School  Gardens,  by  M.  Louise  Greene;  published  by  the  Charities 
Publication  Committee,  105  East  2 2d  Street,  New  York  City.  Price 
$1.25,  postage  prepaid 

Children’s  Gardens  for  Health  and  Education,  by  Henry  G.  Parsons; 
published  by  Sturgis  & Walton  Co.,  33  East  27th  Street,  New  York 
City.  Price  $1.00  net 


L 


Photo  by  Edward  Mahoney 


Happy  Farmers 


